Rapunzel noticed that Cassandra had been below deck for a while and decided to check on her when she still wasn't out of her room for lunch. She headed that way and paused when she saw Varian in the hallway. "Uhm, hey."
He nodded. "Hey. you going to check on Cassandra, too?"
"Yeah." She nodded. "Why don't we go together?"
He nodded and they walked together. "So...you'll be seeing your dad again in a couple days. How do you feel?"
"Nervous." He admitted. "But, I'm sure it's nothing compared to what you're feeling, I doubt that I'll have to fight my dad."
"I don't know how I'm going to be able to even look at him without thinking of those scars, much less act like everything is fine." She sighed. "At least long enough to investigate this 'High-Security' place and talk to my mother without my father watching me like a hawk."
"I can draw you a map, so you can find it. You might have to drug the guards to get to it." He grinned. "I suggest cookies or cupcakes."
"What if I gave my dad a truth serum?" She asked.
"No way. You can find medicinal plants that make you sleepy, but if you used the truth serum, he'd know right away you're affiliated with me." Varian shook his head. "And we don't want to blow our cover."
"Assuming Lucas hasn't told him already." Rapunzel frowned.
"That's true." Varian sighed. "We haven't seen him since the creepy inn." He shuddered. "Can you believe he posed as my dad? And because he messed with my memory, I couldn't remember who he was!"
She sighed. "Well, can you believe Matthews posed as Eugene? I actually kissed that guy." She shuddered.
"Oh, gross!" Varian cringed. "Yeah, you did!"
They stopped outside of Cassandra's room and Varian knocked on the door before Rapunzel opened it up without waiting for an answer. Cassandra was curled up with her head under her pillow and her blanket pulled over her. "Cass? Are you okay?" Rapunzel asked as she walked over to her.
"Yes? No? I don't knooooow." Cassandra admitted.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Varian asked, closing the door.
Cassandra slowly moved the pillow and looked up at them. "Uhm..." She laughed awkwardly. "So, Hector and I were talking and he was saying that all he's known is duty so he gets my hesitation and then he brought up the fact he'd never been with anyone romantically and the one person he was ever with was a woman that came to the Great Tree to see the scrolls and apparently they, uh, had sex at one point and then she left after she translated a couple spells and IthinkHector'smydad!" She blurted out the last part quickly.
"Uhm...what was that?" Rapunzel asked.
Cassandra cleared her throat. "I think...Hector might be my dad." She said slowly. "I mean, it's possible he's not, I have...no idea how long Gothel lived, she, uh...could've been with a lot of people. But, she was definitely with him, and...you know, he's the...only hint of a dad I've ever had." Cassandra glanced away. "Do you think it's just wishful thinking?"
"I bet the Saporians have a way of determining that." Varian said thoughtfully. "I mean, Andrew's mentioned a Seer. He might be able to tell you."
"No, I...I don't want to bother them." Cassandra got up.
"Well, now I want to know." Varian opened the door and walked out.
"Hey--wait!" Cassandra sputtered, following him out.
"Hector could be Cassandra's dad?" Rapunzel gasped. "This would be so great if it's true! Then all my best friends would be related to each other in some way!" She twirled on her feet and followed them out eagerly.
--
"Varian, get back here!" Cassandra said, running after him, Rapunzel right behind her.
"Whoa, guys, where's the fire?" Eugene asked as they ran into the dining hall.
Varian ran up to Andrew. "Andrew, can you get in contact with that Seer guy?"
"Varian!" Cassandra protested.
"I need him to find out who Cassandra's dad is. Can he do that?" Varian went on.
Andrew raised an eyebrow. "Should be able to, but what's this about?"
"I want to confirm something, a theory." Varian nodded firmly. "If I'm wrong, then we can drop the matter."
Andrew shrugged, pulled out his mirror and headed out of the room.
Lady Caine chuckled. "What's this about, hm?" She rubbed the back of Varian's head affectionately. "Gonna leave us in suspense?"
"It's just a theory." Varian smiled at Cassandra. "I won't say anything until I know for sure."
Andrew came back in. "He can check it out, but we'll have to take a detour. That alright, Rapunzel?" He looked at her.
"Yeah, I wanna know, too!" Rapunzel nodded eagerly.
Cassandra groaned. "I'm regretting telling you..."
Eugene raised an eyebrow.
--
Their detour took them to a tall cliff not too far from Tirapai Island, which couldn't be accessed by land or sea. They docked their airship and Juniper walked over as the ramp as lowered. "I'll go get Kline, no need for anyone else to leave the ship and scare the locals." She smirked at them and headed off.
"What is this place?" Rapunzel asked Andrew.
"Well, it's where we Saporians escaped to after the massacre, after General Shampanier was taken captive by Herz Der Sonne. The Royal Family took anyone they could with them and they fled, and here's where they settled down. We call it the Caves of Saporia, and it's an impenetrable fortress."
"It's not so bad, if you don't mind living in a mountain for generations." Clementine remarked, walking over to them. "We would prefer to have our old lands back, though."
"Once I am Queen, I will see it that that happens." Rapunzel nodded.
Ruddiger hopped up onto the railing next to Varian, who was leaning in it, and stared at the mountain silently before he nuzzled Varian and scampered off. Rapunzel watched him go, blinking. "I'm still floored that he's...you know...not a normal raccoon."
"Yeah, well, I could take him being a transformed human, but who he used to work for? Yeesh." Andrew shuddered. "He seems to be a decent guy, though."
Varian nodded. "I wish he could speak human."
They heard footsteps and looked over to see Juniper had rejoined them with a man. "Alright, let's get this show on the road. Cassandra, this is Kline. He's going to be doing your paternity test."
Cassandra blushed furiously. "So, uh...what do you need for this test?"
"A private room, for starters." Kline said calmly.
"I'll take you to mine." Cassandra walked off.
"And room to draw a magic circle." He went on as he followed her.
"Ohh, I'm so excited! I wonder what they'll find out?" Rapunzel asked eagerly.
"I wanna know why she started wondering about her real dad. Would knowing her real dad make it easier to fight the Captain?" Eugene mused.
"It might." Varian shrugged.
"It's too bad we can't go watch." Rapunzel pouted, then gasped. "Can we?"
"If witnesses were allowed, he'd have done it up here." Andrew shook his head. "You'll find out when they're done."
--
Cassandra sat on her bed feeling anxious. What if she was wrong? What if her father was someone she'd never met, or had met but already had his own family? What if he was dead? Was this a good idea? Maybe she should stop this, but it was already too far to stop, wasn't it?
"Alright, Cassandra." He offered her a white robe with strange symbols on it. "Change into this, then sit down in the middle of that circle I just drew."
Cassandra accepted the robe. "Uhm...okay." She said nervously, watching as he turned away so she could get changed. "Will this really work?"
"I have done it many times. We Saporians tend to be...well, free-loving, and it's not so easy to determine whose child is whose before we do this spell." Kline explained.
"Okay, I'm done." She walked over, tensing at the breezy feeling between her legs, and sat down in the middle of the circle. "What now?"
"Now, you sit and wait." He started to use chalk to draw on her forehead, cheeks and hands. Then he moved his hand down the middle of her face and continued it down to her body before he reached her stomach and then pulled his hand away, a glowing line left in its place. "There." He stepped back and started to chant. Cassandra gasped as the circle and the markings drawn on her started to glow white and a wind picked up that threatened to lift her skirt up if she wasn't sitting down on it. A blue fog started to rise up and swirl around her, and she gasped softly as she heard distant voices she couldn't name saying words she couldn't hear.
Then she started to see images. Images that she was honesty glad Rapunzel wasn't here to see, and even though she had heard about it, she still felt a bit queasy watching it. Hector, looking definitely enchanted, was lying on a pile of furs with Gothel, both of them bare of any clothing. Gothel was murmuring things to him, and he looked completely out of it, a dazed smile on his face.
Then Cassandra started to hear the voices clearer.
"...didn't work before, and I don't know if it was me or them, but a little bit of magic should improve our chances. Then, once I have the child of a Brotherhood member, perhaps the Moonstone will not be so out of reach, hm?" She stroked his hair, playing with his braid.
"Mm...perhaps..." He murmured, that same dazed smile on his face.
The images faded and then another image appeared of Gothel giving birth. She was alone in a cottage Cassandra recognized from the vison she'd been shown by the strange girl in the shell house, and Cassandra gasped as she heard herself, as a baby, start to wail upon exit.
"Well," Gothel sighed, looking exhausted, "at least you're healthy." She used a knife to cut the umbilical cord and then bathed the baby carefully in glowing water, murmuring to herself. An image appeared on baby Cassandra's hand for a moment, the Mark of the Brotherhood, before it faded and Gothel sighed happily and lifted her out of the glowing water. "There, all clean. Let's see...I think I'll call you...Cassandra. True to your name, you will excel over everyone and bring me the Moonstone, now won't you, my little girl?" She cooed.
The image faded and the fog dissipated. Cassandra sat in silent shock, long after the glowing stopped, and Kline walked over to gently nudge her over to sit on the bed so he could clean up.
"Has your question been answered?" He asked.
Cassandra shakily lifted her right hand, where the Mark of the Brotherhood had been in the image, and then clutched at her chest. "She...she...used him. She intended to use me. How...so, she wanted me, but...as a tool?"
"At least you can take heart that your father seems to care for you." He said calmly. "And he does not seem to bear her any ill will."
She nodded. "I'm...I need a moment. And to change. And--" She looked up as he offered her a basin. "Y-Yeah, that." She set it next to her and started to wash off the markings.
He walked over to open the door. "When you are ready, I will be with Prince Andrew." He walked out and shut the door behind him.
Cassandra sighed. "So...Hector is my dad. I...wow." She moved to the basin and then got up to get changed back into her normal clothes. "So, my mom was a witch, my dad is a knight, and I was raised by the Captain of the Guards. Wow."
It was a lot to take in. Before she told Rapunzel, though, she needed to go find Hector. She finished getting dressed, then set out to find him.
To her luck, he wasn't with Rapunzel. He was sitting with his beasts in a stable area below deck, crooning and stroking their fur affectionately.
"Hey." Cassandra waved awkwardly.
"Hey." He nodded.
She walked over and sat in front of him. "So...uhm...you...probably heard about my...test thing, right?"
"Yeah." He shrugged.
She bit her lip, unsure how to say this. "Uhm...turns out...uh...it's you." She looked at him. "You are my...uh...real dad."
He blinked at her. "...I have a daughter?"
She nodded. "My mother...uhm..." she laughed a bit, "she was the...woman in the tree with you, the one that translated the spells. That was Gothel."
He blinked in surprise. "...Well..." He chuckled a bit, "if it turns out that I have a daughter, I suppose you're not so bad of one. You're a decent warrior, and we get along well enough. your fierce protectiveness reminds me of myself." He got up and Cassandra stood up as well. "So, what now?"
"Uhm..." she glanced away awkwardly, "would it be...weird to call you...'dad'?" She grinned sheepishly.
He blinked, startled. "Uh, I guess you can. If you want. I don't really know how to be a dad, but I guess you can call me one."
She cleared her throat. "Then, uhm...why don't we go and...tell the others?" She suggested.
He nodded. "Sounds good..." he paused, "daughter." He chuckled awkwardly. "That's just kind of weird. I'll keep calling you 'Cassandra'."
"Yeah, parents don't normally call their kids by titles all the time." She laughed a bit, then turned to go. "Let's go tell the others."
He followed her out, heading for the deck.
--
Rapunzel bounced on her feet eagerly as Cassandra came out, then gasped when she saw Hector was following her. "Well? What'd Kline say?" She asked excitedly.
Cassandra shifted awkwardly. "Uh, everyone, I'd...like to introduce...uhm..." she looked at Hector, "my real dad."
"Yeah, I have a daughter, apparently." Hector shrugged, looking at Adira.
"Apparently." She said, raising an eyebrow.
"With that done, I should be going." Kline said, turning to Andrew. "You may send for me once you have stable lodgings."
"Thank you." Andrew smiled. "She seems very happy with the results."
"Cass, you and Eugene and Varian are cousins now!" Rapunzel declared excitedly.
"...Oh, Sun, she's right!" Eugene cried.
Varian laughed.
Kline smiled and then walked down the ramp to leave.
--
After things calmed down, they set off for Corona again. Cassandra stood at the railing and looked towards Hector, who was sparring with Adira. It was....weird. She barely knew him, and yet she felt like she'd known him her whole life. Despite their rocky start, they got along really well, and now they were fighting side by side.
She wondered, though, if it came to it...would the man that raised her lay down his weapon and not fight them, for her? She still loved him dearly and didn't want to fight him.
But, having her real father with her made things a little easier.